Little Semberholme
Little Semberholme was the capital of Maressea, a kingdom that once occupied a verdant wilderness in The Dungeonscape until it was subsumed by Tiriande in the Mithrilspear Coup.
The city is considered lost to the dungeon after having been evacuated during the Vent.
Founding
The city of Little Semberholme was founded in -450 DR by Maressea Lirayne. In the first few decades of its existence it was little more than a few houses around a spring. After several major bursts in population, it grew to be the capital of the newly formed kingdom of Maressea. It was named after the city of Semberholme, one of the great elven cities of the empire of Cormanthyr, from which Maressea and her sister hailed.Description
The colourful domes of Little Semberholme dotted the root system of an enormous tree, with verdant platforms connected by covered bridges. Streams crossed through the streets in channels, flowing into waterfalls that hung between bridges and houses, twinkling in the light of the wisps that appeared at night.Absorption by Tiriande
The marriage between Princess Arin Tiriande and Celegorm Maressea sealed an alliance between the two kingdoms which lasted past the war that prompted it, lasting over two hundred years. Though Maressea was still formally its own kingdom, the two had, in many respects, already become intertwined when in -58 DR Queen Hilda Mithrilspear declares the dissolution of the kingdom of Maressea, prompting a quick and bloody coup. Despite the death or imprisonment of half of its nobility, Little Semberholme survives the transition mostly unscathed, and little changes for its residents.Evacuation
The city was abandoned in 1242 DR, during the Vent. Though few who had direct contact survived, what few reports escaped the city spoke of the plants themselves rising up against its citizenry. Little Semberholme was one of the first communities hit during the Vent, and the treacherous evacuation - as each successive destination, in turn, got dungeonized as well - claimed the lives of over eighty percent of its population.Demographics
Primarily Elvish (Wood Elf, Sun Elf, Eladrin, Avariel) & Gnomish (Forest Gnome), with some Dragonborn (Gold, Faerie)
Government
Ruled directly by the Coronet of Maressea until that kingdom's dissolution in -58 DR; ruled afterwards by a Tiriandan Duke overseeing a council.
RUINED SETTLEMENT
1242
Founders
Alternative Name(s)
Roots of Cormanthyr
Type
Large city
Population
380,000 pre-Vent
Inhabitant Demonym
Semberholman; Maressean
Location under
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Comments